The North Melbourne Football Club is the fourth oldest football club in the AFL.
It is also one of the oldest sporting clubs world-wide.
1869
The Shinboners
North
The Kangaroos
Victoria Amat Curam
victory demands dedication
The 1880s marked the emergence of the modern identity now associated with North.
Four years later the club adopted the traditional uniform of blue and white vertical stripes at the insistence of the VFA, who wanted a visible contrast between Geelong's and Hotham's uniforms.
The third significant development occurred in 1888 with the club returning to its original name of the North Melbourne Football Club. This followed the name of the local area reverting from Hotham to North Melbourne.
After three attempts, 29 years of waiting and numerous other applications to enter the VFL, finally North was rewarded for its persistence with admittance to the League in 1925. Even then, the opportunity was almost lost as the League delegates debated into the early hours of the morning on which clubs should be invited to join the intake.
It was only after much deliberation that North Melbourne's name was eventually substituted for Prahran's making North "the lucky side" of the invitees that included Footscray and Hawthorn. North Melbourne was forced to change its uniform to avoid a clash when it joined the VFL.
The club was connected to the St Mary's Church of England Cricket Club, whose colours – blue and white – are reflected in the colours today.
So join in the chorus,
And sing it one and all,
Join in the chorus,
North Melbourne's on the ball,
Good old North Melbourne,
They're champions you'll agree,
North Melbourne is the team that plays to win for you and me.
The words North Melbourne
changed when the club was competing as The Kangaroos
.
In 1882 the club moved into the North Melbourne Recreation Reserve (Arden St Oval), which remains the home of the club today.
In 1882 the club moved into the Arden Street Oval, which remains the home of the club today.
It plays its home matches at Docklands Stadium.
It also plays matches at Blundstone Arena, in Bellerive, a suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart, Tas.
In 1985 North Melbourne pioneered the concept of playing football on Friday nights. Since then they have played the most Friday night games of any AFL club.
